


Drinker, Smoker, Child: An ATLA FanFiction

by EraserJester



Series: Sad Prince Tellings: ATLA FanFictions [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Addiction, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alcohol Withdrawal, Alcoholism, Angry Zuko (Avatar), Depression, Drinking, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt Zuko (Avatar), Loss of Identity, Numbness, Recovery, Sad Zuko (Avatar), Self-Destruction, Smoking, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, numb
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:34:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29772117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EraserJester/pseuds/EraserJester
Summary: Zuko spends three years on a ship with sailors and soldiers.Smokes and drinks are expected, and it's simply unfortunate that Zuko's picked it up.Uncle doesn't know.Hakoda knows something is wrong at the Western Air Temple.The Gaang need to know.
Series: Sad Prince Tellings: ATLA FanFictions [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2188119
Comments: 28
Kudos: 173





	Drinker, Smoker, Child: An ATLA FanFiction

**Author's Note:**

> Note: this chapter features underage smoking and drinking, as well with a vague addiction. Please do not take any of this as a reference on your real-life decisions. I do not condone anything featured here.
> 
> This is a different head canon from the rest but it's probably more believable. I could have taken this into a darker turn, but I've chosen it to be lighter.

When Zuko is seven and his sister is five, they come across a flask of spirits, probably left by a forgetful servant. They take turns drinking it, until they're red in the face and incoherent of anything but laughter, and their mother finds them sleeping on the floor in Zuko's room, an empty flask between them, the strong smell of liquor strong in the air. 

Frantic, she wakes them up before calling for ice, to cool their heads, but it is no use; both brother and sister catch a fever and are bedridden for half a week before they are allowed out of their rooms again. 

It's a funny story, and one that Ozai has never heard of. 

\---

It starts small, as a form of curiosity.

When his scar was healing, Uncle had encouraged him to stroll around, on the ship's deck, instead of hiding away in his room. ' _Meet your guards_ ' Iroh had said, waving to the unfortunate people who were stuck with the Prince on his ill-fated mission.

It isn't a secret that Lieutenant Jee smokes; he just keeps it on the low (sometimes). He doesn't do the strong stuff in front of Zuko; just sage lilyweed here and there, and the woodrose is smoked behind closed doors or at night, where the soldiers can unwind.

Being in war does things to people on both sides; some are crippled, some are killed, and some never sleep peacefully ever again.

The Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom's goods have done very well in the hundred-year war. There is never a decline in demand for booze and smokes; in fact, demand has soared higher, in recent years. 

Iroh _knows_ , he knows of what Jee and the older guards exchange at trading ports, but he doesn't say anything. He used to be a huge fan of lilyweed himself, when he was younger. Nothing he says will stop the Lieutenant from his (definite) addiction.

Zuko can smell lilyweed smoke in the corners of the ship, and the odor doesn't exactly leave. Rather, he grows used to it. It's not too uncommon to smoke lilyweeds; they're around the Nation and easy to preserve. He's never had it. But sometimes, there's something else in the air, something pungent and piercing and ten times stronger than lilyweed. 

Jee doesn't let him near the woodrose, of course. They're kept in his office under a lock. After a few weeks, when the Prince is less prone to screams and tantrums, Zuko hangs around his Lieutenant a little more. At first, Jee chalks it up to Iroh, making Zuko spend more time with him, but then he realizes what the thirteen year-old is really after.

He tries to ignore the silent child at first. He makes sure that he only smokes alone in his office and out on the deck, where the smoke can easily be blown away by the winds, but it only makes Zuko come closer.

 _Is it possible to be hooked on lilyweed smoke without ever actually smoking it_? Jee mused to himself, as Zuko stared at the plume of dark smoke billowing out of the Lieutenant's mouth. It had been three months, since the disastrous Agni Kai, and most of Zuko's time had been spent near Jee, breathing in the lilyweed air.

"Hey. Your Highness."

"Mm?"

"I don't recommend-" Jee waved around his cigarette. "- _this._ I don't want you turning into an addict."

"Lilyweed isn't that strong" Zuko said defensively. "You've never even let me try it-"

"-You're thirteen. You are _not_ trying a smoke, when you're a child."

"I'm not a child-"

"You are. You're a child that loves to smell lilyweed smoke." Jee threw the cigarette stub into the ocean. "You're hooked onto lilyweed smoke and you haven't even tried it. I shudder to think what you'll do at your first breath."

There are very unique smells, at sea. Uncle's tea, that always smells nice (but doesn't really taste like anything). The saltiness that plagues roast fish, the burning fire downstairs that tickles Zuko's nose.

The addictive plumes of lilyweed smoke that never go away, as well as the stench of liquor and stronger spirits exchanged by the men at sunset.

These are everyday occurrences on the small ship, and Uncle tries his very best to guide Zuko on a straight and plain path, but nothing has ever come so simple to the banished Prince. 

\---

When Zuko is fourteen years old, there's a small party thrown for him aboard the ship. Small firecrackers are popped, cake is baked by chef, and a round of drinks are passed out. 

He's offered a small cup with a clear liquid and from the smell of it, it's definitely not water. He downs it in one gulp and his crew cheers; he's not offered any more. It was probably just a treat, some wisteria shots, to let him try some things out. 

Uncle sighed. "Really, I don't understand why you have such a distaste for tea, Zuko." He smiles, and Zuko smiles, and everything seems alright, like he isn't surrounded by outcasts and misfits and a disgraced General. 

When one of the younger soldiers are distracted, Zuko takes one of their half-full bottles and brings it to his room. He can dimly hear the crew singing and dancing on the deck, with Uncle in the lead; the old man's playing the tsungi horn. 

Soon, this fades into the background as slowly but surely, he finishes the bottle. At first, the taste is bitter and not at all appetizing but after a few sips he can't taste anything at all. Zuko throws the bottle into the sea from out of his window when he's finished and he doesn't know how long he stays there, in a mindless daze, leaning out the window, tongue burning, head spinning. 

What Zuko knows for sure is that he wakes up, in the morning, with the sun shining too brightly for his bloodshot eyes through the open window. It's a miracle the he hadn't fallen through the window last night, with his drunkenness and all. 

He doesn't tell anyone. Zuko takes a shower, before quickly eating breakfast in his room, and sets about his day going over war maps and strategies, before coming out after lunch for training. 

All is well. 

\---

It's so easy to buy a beer at the trading stalls around the ports. Most of the men spend the day walking around whatever port they're at, but Zuko hasn't set foot on land since he was banished. He doesn't like the people, doesn't like the weird feel of hard earth underneath him, doesn't like anything. 

But one day, he tells Uncle that he's heading out, that he's 'trying something new.'

Of course, Iroh is overjoyed. He offers to guide Zuko around but the Prince refuses, as expected (it doesn't matter anyways; Uncle is just happy that his nephew is off the ship). 

While it takes Zuko a little longer than he'd thought, he eventually manages to buy a bottle of Earth Kingdom beer (the label looks different from the ones that Jee usually drinks, and the flavour is different too, it's somehow sweet and sour at the same time-) and, crouched down behind some empty shack, he swallows it all, before throwing it back up, just mere minutes apart. 

Huh. He should try a different flavour next time. 

\---

When Zuko is fifteen years old, he sneaks into Jee's office, and pries open the lock. He takes a single woodrose cigar and hides them in his clothes. At night, when Uncle is asleep, he opens the window in his room and leans out of it slightly (he's learned from the past, not to open the window all the way up; he doesn't need a bigger risk of falling overboard), so the woodrose fumes don't leave any traces in his room. 

With shaky hands, he lights the cigar and with an almost stupid sort of bravery, breathes in. 

His first inhale almost makes him black out; he gasps and sputters, as the cigar falls from his unsteady hands and disappears in the deep ocean. 

Zuko slams the window down, and sits in his bed for the rest of the night. He cannot sleep. 

His eyes are red the next morning, and Uncle assumes it's because of the nightmares, the screams, that usually resound in his nephew's room. Iroh does not pry. 

\---

Zuko is sixteen and the Blue Spirit, the next time he smokes lilyweed. He steals a pack from a merchant, along with a teapot and a few other delicacies, just for Uncle.

While Iroh is fawning over the intricate designs of the teapot and the richness of the spice packets, Zuko steps away, until he's near a thin river, and takes a lilyweed cigarette out of the pack, and he thinks, for a few seconds, before lighting it with his fingers. 

It feels fine, _good_ , even. He sits there as he tries to control his breathing, and he hates to admit, the lilyweed makes him feel rested, and calm. He stamps it out and places a mound of dirt on the stub, before washing his face in the river. 

"Zuko?" Uncle was making lunch. "The noodles are ready!"

"Coming!"

\---

Jet smokes, but it's not lilyweed. It's a different kind, one of a different taste, though no more stronger and no more addictive. It's not really Zuko's type; too thin, too sweet, and his mouth feels strangely dry after. 

Nonetheless, his time on the ship to Ba Sing Se is spent with mild interest and fun. Longshot teaches him the exact way to pop a bottle with a knife, while Smellerbee teaches him how to play a game of cards, one famous in the Earth Kingdom but never heard of in the Fire Nation. 

The Jasmine Dragon tea shop is doing well, and Zuko makes good use of his time by serving the customers. They think nothing of him, other than being the shopkeeper's quiet, scarred, son. Uncle has to remind them that he's his nephew. 

When Jin asks him out on a date, he reluctantly agrees, to Uncle's interference. It goes less than fine, and he makes an absolutely fool out of himself at the restaurant, that the least he can do to repay her is to light up the lanterns around her favourite fountain. 

She's happy and grateful, not to mention curious, as to how he did it, and Zuko feels _so, so nervous_. His chest feels tight, and he's sure his face is a mess at the moment; the back of his neck feels hot. 

As if on autopilot, he nods to what Jin is saying, while withdrawing a thin cigarette from his pocket, and lights the end by sticking it near one of the floating lanterns in the fountain. 

"The lanterns are amazing, right? I-" Jin stops mid-speech, as she glances towards Zuko. He's just breathed out a plume of smoke, before he realizes Jin is watching him. 

"O-oh, sorry. My bad." Zuko quickly stamps out the cigarette and flicks it away. "It's just, something I do. When I'm nervous. Or scared." He places his hands behind his back. "Sorry, again." 

Jin sighs. "You shouldn't smoke, Lee. It's bad for your lungs-that's what my neighbour says, whenever she catches teens smoking near the school." She reaches out, and draws Zuko's hand from behind him. 

Her eyes shine in the firelight. Brown, hazel. No, definitely just brown. A warm kind of brown. "...Are you nervous, right now? Scared?"

Zuko looks away. He can't focus. "Yeah. I am. Both nervous. And scared."

\---

Back at the Fire Nation, Fire Lord Ozai holds a banquet for his returned son, and Zuko drinks a shot of spirits to cheers and toasts; it's expected for a Prince to hold his liquor. 

While Zuko drinks when he's offered it, he doesn't seek it out in the Palace; the walls have ears that hear, and mouths that whisper gossip at a moment's notice. 

Before he challenges his father to guide the Avatar, he packs a bottle with him. 

\---

Hakoda is very much relieved to be away from the Boiling Rock, and as he hugs his daughter and son, he thinks there is no better place to be than the Western Air Temple, with them together. 

Zuko jumps out of Appa's saddle and with a bitter look at Sokka's family, he turns and heads towards his room, far away from the others. 

At night, everyone is gathered around the campfire, and they all share stories of the day, with Sokka taking the lead, while Suki and Katara call his bluff. Hakoda is content, and as he introduces himself to the spunky Toph Beifong, he finds that she's a rather interesting person. 

He almost misses what happens on the other side of the campfire. Zuko and Chit Sang are together, and Hakoda does a double take, as he spots the scarred teen take out a dagger and a beer bottle. 

Hakoda watches with frozen and uncomprehending eyes, as Zuko pops the lid off the bottle with practiced efficiency and takes a long drink; Hakoda can imagine the smell of beer, even though he's a few meters away from Zuko. He then passes the bottle to Chit Sang, who does the same.

\---

Chit Sang is very, very, surprised. 

Originally, he'd planned on staying away from anyone in general, but out of the blue, the Prince of the Fire Nation had chosen to stick by him, and well, he couldn't refuse His Highness, of course. 

Zuko doesn't talk but that's fine; Chit Sang doesn't talk much, either. 

They sit together at the campfire and Chit Sang thinks everything is fine, that he can sit here and bask in the warmth family before him, when Zuko stands up and leaves. Conversation doesn't still, but perhaps Katara's shoulders relax a little, and maybe Hakoda's also more at ease. 

Zuko comes back, and of course, a thin frown comes across Katara's face before she continues talking with Aang, and Hakoda's jaw tightens, as Zuko comes back with...a bag? Yes, a bag. He sets it down gently, and takes out a glass bottle, just like the ones Chit Sang himself use to treat himself to, after a night in the Forty-First Division. 

_Oh._

And before he can really object or say anything at all, Zuko flips the lid off with the tip of an Earth Kingdom dagger (when did he get that?) and drinks; a hearty swig that comes with practice, and drinks. 

And offers it to him. 

_Okay._

_\---_

The Chief of the Southern Water Tribe glances from side to side; Toph is animatedly talking to him about a new earthbending move she's planning on teaching the Avatar, while Aang is laughing along with Katara, as Suki and Sokka argue about their heroics during the Boiling Rock escape. 

No one is looking at the two fire benders. 

Oh, no. 

Hakoda will have a talk with Chit Sang in the morning. The man's an adult, for Tui's sake. He should have better manners than letting a _child_ open and drink beer. 

It's Chit Sang, right? Yes, definitely. It's _definitely_ Chit Sang's influence on Zuko, no two ways about it. No way that a Prince carries beer with him; Chit Sang probably got it from the village a few hours ago. 

**Author's Note:**

> Expect guidance from Hakoda and Chit Sang in the next chapters! :) I hope you guys liked this chapter, tell me what you think!


End file.
